May 27, 2008, through May 30, 2008, was the week—the week that changed my entire perspective on handicapped and disabled children. Camp Dream Street, where I worked that week, is a special place where children with any sort of mental or physical disability are able to go for four days to participate in activities they wouldn’t normally get to do.

A day at Dream Street is really fun and exciting. We started off with morning stretches, which my camper, Mary Leigh (on the horse with me at left), enjoyed. Then we ate breakfast with the whole camp, and then we had a jamming song session, which the campers led. Soon after, we headed to our busy day of activities, which included horseback riding, swimming, sports, fishing and boating, arts and crafts, cheerleading and radio. Lunch was right around the corner, with a skit about the evening program that took place later in the day. The only other thing to come next was rest hour, because camp was so action-packed and exhilarating! Then we headed straight to the pool for free swim. Then, as Mary Leigh would say, “Supper is coming up!” After the evening program, we headed back to our cabins for a shower party. At that point, it was finally time to say goodnight.

Dream Street was something I got into after attending URJ Henry S. Jacobs Camp and participating in NFTY. I had heard how rewarding the week was and that all a teen needs to do is experience a week at Dream Street and their life will truly be changed for the better. So I decided to give it a try! Dream Street was honestly one of the hardest weeks of my life, but the most rewarding. My camper, Mary Leigh, had scoliosis and arthrogryposis, but she was very independent. She loved Scooby-Doo and got very into the evening programs that “Scooby-Doo” came to. For the whole week, my life revolved around Mary Leigh and everything she wanted to do while at camp. I loved knowing that I just had two things to worry about: Mary Leigh and making sure she was always having fun. I can honestly say that Dream Street was the best week of my life, and the most rewarding.